Contestation in black burial grounds: The public management case of necropolitics, necronationalism, and nepantla

The saying “death is the great equalizer” might not hold true if you live in a body marginalized in life. Combining necropolitics, necronationalism, and nepantla, this paper uses the example of Black burial grounds in the U.S. to understand how the management of death continues the marginalization of lives already devalued. In our example, cemeteries are places to extend biopolitical control over bodies, and necropolitics can create spaces that render life abject or meaningless. When paved over, the Black body is removed from society altogether because the land is seen as more valuable than the person and memorialization. The implications for public management – both as implicit and as the entity often expected to step in to reverse the trend – are detailed.